Scientists study meteorites and gather data on volcanic activity that occurs on the planets and moons across our solar system.
You might wonder why the Earth’s moon has craters, are those from volcanoes? And if we have volcanoes here, what about all the other planets?
Scientists have been studying moon rocks, meteorites, and other artifacts, comparing them to rocks on Earth as they work to uncover the mysteries of the solar system. One of those mysteries is what volcanic activity may have looked like (or may continue to look like) on Earth’s moon and/or on other planets and their moons.
They’ve found, for instance, that Mars has the highest known volcano of any planet (Olympus Mons, located northwest of Arsia Mons pictured above). Meanwhile, we could jump to another part of the universe and find a cryovolcano, or cold volcano. Check out the video below to learn more about extraterrestrial volcanoes—where they are, what we know about them, and what insights it gives us about Earth.
Looking for more astronomy research?
Read up on the Juno spacecraft mission to Jupiter. The Juno spacecraft made a five-year, 1.7-billion-mile journey from Earth to Jupiter, arriving in 2016. On July 4, 2026, NASA marked Juno’s tenth year orbiting Jupiter. This mission continues to allow scientists to learn about the solar system and take breathtaking images.
Volcanoes may be in the past for Earth’s moon, but rust is a current concern. Read more about solar winds and how conditions on Earth are rusting the moon.
What is dark energy and does it explain the universe? Scientists continue to debate this issue and to propose theories that might explain their observations.
Learn about the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights. We have beautiful natural wonders in the sky that don’t pose the same threat of destruction that a volcano might.
References
Video credit: Shelf Life 360, American Museum of Natural History. View the transcript here.
Featured image: Kilauea Volcano on the island of Hawaii, as photographed by a NASA-led science team. Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
